Constantly Improving Business Processes.

Monthly Archives: July 2014

We started our look at the Agile Manifesto by pointing out that Agile starts with people. The next value pair continues this thought.

Customer Collaboration
over
Contract Negotiation

After all, customers are people whereas contracts are legally binding documents. A contract is important. Getting it properly negotiated up front is something that we cannot ignore, but the time we spend collaborating with our customers is so much more valuable. It’s more valuable to us, and to them. Continue reading →

I follow a lot of blogs related to Agile. I also follow many people on Twitter and watch a few LinkedIn groups. It all results in a lot of information available for me to digest. It also gives me a chance to watch some trends pertaining to what people are talking about. I will be the first to admit that I need to increase my net to get solid industry wide trends. (I am always looking for more blogs and people to add to my following lists.)

One trend I have seen a little of over the last few months is the idea of Agile Project Management and Traditional Project Management working more closely together.

I have stated in the past that I feel there is room for co-existence. While many “Agile Purists” push the idea that there is a black and white distinction between Traditional and Agile methods I feel it is more of a continuum. Chuck Cobb over at Managed Agile Development has really been pushing this lately. His concept is that we really need to redefine it such that there is no distinction between Traditional Project Management and Agile Project Management, and I totally agree. Continue reading →

Every attempt at transition can have issues. Some issues are fairly common regardless of who attempts the transition. No matter who tries to cross the Sahara there will be a lack of water available during the trip. These common issues are often called red flags.

Every desert crossing attempt is unique. The people and methods involved vary. Some may be making the trip over the course of week, others in just a few hours. In each of these circumstances the best way to address the lack of available water is very different.

In Agile transitions there are also red flags. Just as with crossing the desert each Agile implementation is different. As such there is not a proper way to address every issue every time. The more similar organisations are the more similar the solutions may be, but even that is not a given. Today we are looking at the Agile red flag of a Command and Control Management. Continue reading →